Koblenz
The weather had been very hot on this trip, but on arriving in Koblenz, the rain came down in an absolute deluge. With limited time, there were a couple of things to see, so despite a little flooding here and there, it was a matter of getting on with it.
The town is a traditional German one, with cobblestone streets, wood-beamed houses, old market squares and of course medieval churches. It sits on the intersection between the Rhine and Moselle rivers. Where the two rivers come together, it is known as the ‘German Corner’ and it contains one of the largest statues I have seen of a man on horseback. The figure is Prince William I, and he overlooks where the two rivers meet. It really is a statement piece in an ideal location.
St Castor Basilica is the oldest preserved church in Koblenz. Although consecrated in 836, the building as we see it today dates from the middle of the 12th century. It is the image I’ve used to accompany this blog post. In the square in front of the Basilica is a fountain and it has an inscription dating from 1812 commemorating Napoleon’s victorious Russian campaign. This was optimistic and premature, as it turned out Napoleon was in fact defeated. When the Russian soldiers arrived in Koblenz, January 1st 1814, the new city commander added his own inscription below it, ‘Seen and approved by us, the Russian commander of the city of Koblenz.’ So ended the French occupation of Koblenz.
There was the opportunity to take a cable car up to the Ehrenbreitstein Fortress which overlooks the ‘German Corner’ providing fantastic views of where the rivers meet. It dates from around 1100, and has gone through various rebuilds, with the construction in its current form dating from between 1817 and 1828. It is the second largest fortress in Europe (after Gibraltar) and stands 118 meters above the Rhine. It is the only surviving Prussian fortress from the 19th century and is part of the UNIESCO World Heritage Upper Middle Rhine Valley. The view is magnificent and worth it for that alone. The museum displays and directions around the exhibits that are on offer, I felt were confusing and it was challenging to grasp an overall view of the history of the place. There didn’t appear to be any logical starting point, and this led to wandering in and out of various areas of the buildings with no clear idea of where to go next. It is a big place and a taking a guided tour would be recommended here, but as noted earlier, time was short so that wasn’t an option.
I didn’t get the chance to visit the Ludwig Museum, which is dedicated to contemporary art, and in particular French art. There is also the Mittelrhein-Museum, founded in 1835, one of the oldest and well-known museums in Germany. I did pass by the bright yellow home of Beethoven’s mother, but again there was no time to visit. I did see one piece of modern art on the way to the Basilica, which is known as the ‘thumb.’ This is a large bronze sculpture created by the artist Cesar Baldaccini and is a self-portrait created from a cast of his own thumb. There are several versions of this, with the one in Koblenz standing approximately two meters tall.
There is a lot to see in Koblenz and would be well worth another visit in future. I didn’t know anything about the city before arriving, so I was delighted to see there is so much on offer here. It is one of those cities that wasn’t on my radar, and wouldn’t have thought to go, so I’m glad the opportunity came up.
The Fiction Factory 